While he was the chief minister of the state, he had to frequently face struggle with Pinarayi Vijayan, the powerful head of the party which led the ruling coalition. Both of them headed for showdowns, which often prevented Achuthanandan from taking strong decisions. This power struggle often turned worse as both attacking each other. As a result, this group fight created two set of party leaders and even the ministers in the government, the name called the VS group and the Pinarayi group.[28][29]